Donald P. Hodel '57

On a warm night during the spring reading period of 1954, Donald P. Hodel ’57—a freshman living in Wigglesworth E-11—received a welcome distraction that became a valuable lesson.

A protest beginning near Dunster House had wound its way through the upperclassman houses and the group of students, chanting and yelling, arrived in the Yard. Hodel recalls watching his classmates flock to join the demonstration.

“The protest was to free Puerto Rico, I believe,” Hodel says, “But I would say that about half of one percent of the students knew what was going on. They just wanted to go charging and running about. After that experience, I came away with a very jaundiced view of demonstrations. It seemed as if they could be more for the lark of stirring people up then anything else.”

Hodel preserved this attitude in his approach to what became a successful career in Republican politics, remaining wary of “spectacle” and choosing instead to lead quietly.